Sunday, April 20th Activities in Golden Gate Park and the Haight-Ashbury

This Sunday, April 20th, will see not only Easter celebrations throughout the City, but the likely return of an informal and unpermitted “4/20” gathering in Golden Gate Park and the Haight, which has caused significant problems in the community over the years and was particularly problematic last year.

Crowds strained police, Muni, and park resources, overwhelmed residential streets, and in several instances, damaged public and private property. Traffic came to a standstill as cars swarmed thearea. Garbage overflowed from curbside cans that proved unequal to the occasion. And on Sunday, 4/21, staff and volunteers with the Recreation and Parks Department had to laboriously collect over 10,000 pounds of litter left in the parks, not to mention the trash collected by the Department of Public Works from the upper Haight to Hayes Valley.

I am determined not to allow these impacts again this year. Over the past months, I have worked closely with the Police and Parks Departments, Mayor Lee’s office, and the MTA on a comprehensive city approach to this event. There is no sponsor for 4/20, no organizer to hold to account. But I want the community to know that their Supervisor and their government are doing everything possible to ensure a safe, peaceful April 20th for both visitors and residents.

San Francisco, as always, welcomes celebrants with open arms, but this Sunday there will be boundaries to keep the community safe, and there will be no tolerance for anyone using 4/20 as an excuse to harm our parks or neighborhoods.

 There will be increased law enforcement presence both uniform and plainclothes—including Juvenile Probation Officers—in the Park, upper and lower Haight, and surrounding neighborhoods with a strict enforcement approach to all code violations.

 Parking is very limited in the area, and there will be Parking Control Officers (PCOs) ticketing and/or towing vehicles parked illegally in any way, e.g. on lawns or in neighbors’ driveways. PCOs will also be deployed at busy intersections to keep traffic and transit moving.

 Unpermitted booths and concessions in the Parks will not be allowed. Such enterprises will be immediately cited and removed.

 Traffic control officers, SFPD, and Muni will be on hand in the afternoon to help move visitors out of the neighborhoods quickly and safely. Muni will reroute buses off Haight Street between Stanyan and Masonic to avoid delays.

If our neighborhoods and parks are expected to continue hosting a large gathering, without an organizer or any resources beyond those provided by the taxpayer, we must all be vigilant in ensuring the event is safe, clean, and responsible.

Here it is, 420 Day, or close enough. Check out the comically large Planning Commission NOTICE OF HEARING notice on the front gate and the comically small recycling bin out front. (No black garbage can? A point of pride, I’m sure)

“The League of Young Voters presents…MEET YOUR MAR from 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM atPark Life (220 Clement @ 3rd) on Wednesday March 24th. FREE! There will be art, snacks, drinks, tunes, a bunch of fresh kids chillin…plus Eric Mar, chattin and getting schooled about his constituents (ie, you). Come play human bingo (to win Park Life gear!), ask Mar questions, and tell him what he should really be working on in your hood. It’s his job to listen.”

“Sites like SFist.com and the Muni Diaries are doing more than just keeping San Franciscans in the know about the latest bar openings or bus brawls. They represent the shift to a new media model based on the interest and participation of the many; gatekeepers no longer decide what the masses want to see or hear, or who gets to give it to them. With heavy-hitting new media companies like Twitter, Yelp, Digg, Wikipedia and Flickr headquartered in the city, it’s no wonder that San Francisco is widely regarded as the home of new media. Get an insider’s perspective from the new leaders of media in SF.

“Where do you go for your daily local news jolt? Whose writing is so fresh, witty, hilarious or gutsy that you savor each piece like it’s the last of the cake? After the panel, we are hosting up-and-coming media personalities of San Francisco, invitation provided by you. Tell us who just HAS to be there, then vote for who should be crowned king or queen of SF new media. Come to the party to meet, mingle andgush your fandom in person!

“What is INFORUM?
The idea of INFORUM began with the basic tenet that young people not only deserve but desire unbiased, trustworthy information from a full range of stances, and that they want their sources qualified. The Commonwealth Club has a 103 year tradition of civic debate, and INFORUM honors and continues this tradition by providing a forum for young people to access the best informed, most involved, and brightest minds – be they politicians, business gurus, policy workers, thought leaders, trendsetters or culture-jammers.

The voting’s all over on this one, but feel free to cheer loudly when they whip out a tiara for the crowning ceremony.

Deets below. See you there, who knows maybe at both places.

*I know what you’re thinking – petitio principii, right? Like, what if the San Francisco Chronicle is the new San Francisco Chronicle?